Berkshire Park Elementary 24-25
OUR CONTEXT
The Berkshire Park community is a vibrant and inclusive environment, situated on the unceded traditional territories of the Katzie, Semiahmoo, Kwantlen, and other Coast Salish Peoples. With a diverse population of over 460 students, representing a variety of multicultural backgrounds and speaking 39 different languages at home, the community thrives on mutual respect and support. English Language Learners make up more than half of the student body, and the students and staff demonstrate remarkable care by assisting with translations, adapting to school routines, and engaging in classroom learning.
The school encompasses 19 divisions of K-7 classes, a M.A.C.C. class for gifted students, and the Kindergarten Readiness Program. Additionally, it hosts the Kids First Montessori Preschool, which provides preschool and before-and-after-school care. The community fosters family involvement through shared reading sessions in primary-aged classes and invites families to participate in special assemblies and events like Orange Shirt Day, the Terry Fox Run, Activity Sports Day, and various student performances.
A supportive Parent Advisory Council (PAC) plays a crucial role in fundraising for class field trips, special activities, and arts presentations. They also organize hot lunch days and fun events such as movie nights and Activity Day concession, enhancing the sense of community.
Students at Berkshire Park embody the school code of conduct by being respectful, accountable, and safe. They engage in lessons and activities that honor Indigenous values and respect the land. It helps to have an actual forest adjacent to the school grounds! The school celebrates multicultural diversity by acknowledging and respecting various cultural traditions and celebrations throughout the year, with a strong focus on kindness. Several times during the school year, every student in the school contributes to the bulletin board tree in the main hallway with a particular theme. In this picture, they wrote or drew a way to show kindness onto each heart.
Throughout the year, students participate in a variety of school programs and clubs, including gardening, diversity, drama, dance, library volunteering, lunch monitoring, school spirit team, and beginner band. Intermediate grade students enthusiastically join sports teams such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, badminton, ultimate frisbee, and track & field. The strong sense of belonging is evident in their active participation in programs and clubs, willingness to help others, and involvement in school spirit days that unite the community.
"The spirit days make coming to school more fun and enjoyable." - Alice D. (student)
OUR LEARNERS
Learners engaged in reading and literacy skill development are evident throughout the school. The following are examples of our students, individually and collaboratively, using oral and visual representations, and written texts to:
Comprehend and Connect
Our learners can construct meaningful personal connections between self, text, and world.
Home Reading programs in primary grades help to provide resources for families to keep up daily reading practice.
(Insert a photo of a student switching their Home Reading books)
A sense of continuity and belonging is fostered by having buddy classes (younger and older) read and do fun activities together.
Many primary classes develop the joy of reading with regular family reading times.
Younger students explore storytelling in Story-Workshop activities.
Each student in the school has opportunities to read successfully, including all abilities and proficiencies of fluency. This photo shows some “decodable” books at the intermediate level.
Our school library is a centre-point of the school where students experience read-aloud, discussions, and follow-up activities:
Read alouds of diverse stories—both fiction and nonfiction—help students comprehend and connect to literature by exposing them to a wide range of voices, experiences, and worldviews. Diverse texts allow students to see themselves reflected in literature (mirrors) and to learn about others' lives (windows), fostering empathy, curiosity, and a deeper understanding of the world.
Discussions following a story helps students comprehend and connect to literature by encouraging them to express ideas, ask questions, and explore different perspectives, which deepens their understanding.
Follow-up activities help students comprehend and connect to literature by allowing them to reflect, apply their understanding creatively or critically, and engage with the text through multiple modes of learning.
Various staff members contributed to this library bulletin board to help promote the enjoyment of reading in the school.
Our learners can identify how story in First People cultures connects people to land.
Younger students read these books with their teacher and went through a process to create a land acknowledgement that was meaningful to them. They presented their land acknowledgement as a group to the rest of the school in a sharing assembly.
"There's Indigenous people living on this land. They lived on this land for a lot of years. (It was important for us to create a Land Acknowledgement because) they lived on this land before it was named Canada." - Arzoie, Grade 1 student
Create and Communicate
Our learners can develop and apply expanding word knowledge.
Students work in levelled groups on word sorts to discuss spelling patterns, root words, and meaning and origins.
"It helps me learn meanings of words and how to spell them." - Zaariyat B.
"It helps me learn new words I never knew before." - Cham A.
Students use letter tiles to make words, practicing letter sounds and exploring rhyming words. This kind of activity supports literacy in both reading and writing.
OUR FOCUS
At Berkshire Park, we are dedicated to fostering an environment where learners continually enhance and showcase their literacy skills. Our committed educators provide diverse and dynamic opportunities tailored to meet the unique literacy needs and levels of every student, ensuring comprehensive growth and development.
Our students’ learning goals include:
- Making meaning of literature using developmentally appropriate reading, listening and viewing strategies.
- Deepen understanding of text through a variety of comprehension strategies before, during and after reading, listening or viewing.
Reading Fluency
Reading fluency is essential for overall reading development. It enhances comprehension, fosters a love for reading, and builds student confidence. At Berkshire Park, we promote fluency through daily read-alouds, shared reading, and independent reading. By implementing these strategies and continuously adjusting our approach, we support all students, including English Language Learners (ELL) and those with diverse needs, in becoming proficient and confident readers.
Two students engaged in shared reading:
Some students participating in Reader's Theatre:
Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension is a lifelong skill essential for success in all areas of education and beyond. At Berkshire Park, students develop strong reading comprehension skills to understand complex topics, critically evaluate information from various sources, and continue learning independently throughout their lives. Comprehension makes reading enjoyable, fun, and informative.
Students complete reflections about what they have read.
OUR NEXT STEPS
Reading Proficiency
With our continued focus on reading fluency and comprehension, we are looking at the current proficiency levels that students demonstrate in these areas:
- Kindergarten to Grade 3 students can use developmentally appropriate reading, listening and viewing strategies to make meaning.
- Grade 4 and 5 students can use a variety of comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading, listening, or viewing to deepen understanding of text.
- Grade 6-7 students apply appropriate strategies to comprehend written, oral, and visual texts, guide inquiry, and extend thinking.
An Exciting Initiative Ahead:
We have 20 teachers at our school who have committed to the "Responding to Readers" provincial literacy project, starting in September, 2025. This will mark the beginning of our third year of participation in this project, with the highest ever number of Berkshire Park teachers involved.
Our aims, as a cohesive school team:
- deepen our collective expertise around how students learn to read and comprehend
- utilize quality assessment practices
- create effective learning environments
- implement responsive, evidence-informed instructional routines
We will focus on a cohort of students to track their progress throughout the school year in their proficiency levels of reading fluency and comprehension.
Surrey Schools
Formed in 1906, the Surrey School District currently has the largest student enrolment in British Columbia and is one of the few growing districts in the province. It is governed by a publicly elected board of seven trustees.
The district serves the cities of Surrey and White Rock and the rural area of Barnston Island.
